Recycling Coco

For experienced coco growers, what's the best way to recycle coco for another grow?

bindle-stiff said:

For experienced coco growers, what's the best way to recycle coco for another grow?

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THIS....

I'll recycle coco sometimes and reuse it if the plant hasn't completely encapsulated it in the roots. After harvest I'll pull the root ball out of the pot and shake off as much as possible. I only reuse what easily falls away. The rest including the root ball goes into the compost for the garden. I then take the reclaimed coco, put it in large nursery pots and flush it outside with the garden hose. After that I'll squeeze the excess water out, put it in a tub, and soak it in a mild nutrient solution. I use calcium nitrate so I don't worry about adding any calmag. I don't use the reclaimed coco straight but I'll mix it in with fresh coco. 70% fresh and 30% reused. Fill pots and plant plants.

xtsho said:

I'll recycle coco sometimes and reuse it if the plant hasn't completely encapsulated it in the roots. After harvest I'll pull the root ball out of the pot and shake off as much as possible. I only reuse what easily falls away. The rest including the root ball goes into the compost for the garden. I then take the reclaimed coco, put it in large nursery pots and flush it outside with the garden hose. After that I'll squeeze the excess water out, put it in a tub, and soak it in a mild nutrient solution. I use calcium nitrate so I don't worry about adding any calmag. I don't use the reclaimed coco straight but I'll mix it in with fresh coco. 70% fresh and 30% reused. Fill pots and plant plants.

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What rate of cal nit do you use to buffer with? And do you use and mag sulfate?

PrometheanLeaf said:

What rate of cal nit do you use to buffer with? And do you use and mag sulfate?

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I use 1/4 tsp calcium nitrate, 1/4 tsp magnesium sulfate, and 1/2 tsp of a micronutrient blend per gallon.

bindle-stiff said:

For experienced coco growers, what's the best way to recycle coco for another grow?

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This is what I do, bare in mind I have good water with good amounts of cal and mag and I use canna coco which iswell buffered in the first place.

I let my old pots dry out after harvest, I have previously used low EC for a few days prior to harvest.

Once coco is dry I use a bread knife to cut into chunks, then use a garden siv (that's never seen outdoor use)
This removes the bulk of older bigger roots.
Then I chuck it in a bucket, might use it there and then or might be a few month before I need it.

When I reuse it I add a good dose of cannazym for the first few waterings to help break down smaller roots.

That's it.
Good idea to check your runoff EC for a bit to make sure you haven't got a shed load of dry salt build up.

Honestly your just asking for issues reusing coco. How big is your setup? What would it cost to buy new coco every run to ensure you don’t have issues from the start? Imo it’s not worth it at all.

Hi Bindle,
I reuse my coco. No garden and trash volume is an issue.

I just use my hands to break up rootball (after a bit if drying) and pick out roots.

Once roots are gone...it gets a good rinse...both to wash out nutrients as well as the pithy coco that accumulates from cellular breakdown. it has loads of K+ in it.

Then the usual soak in 1.5x calmag and I'm good to go.
JD

I used to when I ran hempys. I've moved to fabric pots with multiple feedings per day once the plants are big. I grow outdoors in 10 gallon pots. After harvest, there is no root ball to remove. The entire fabric pot is peeled off and the coco is so saturated with fine hair roots that it keeps the shape of the pot. And even after it's completely dried, it's just a solid mass. Love those fabric pots with just coco.

I have been braking the root ball apart and shaking it in a sieve. Removes most of the roots. Used coco is to fine to use as is, so I amend with rice hulls. More of an experiment. But so far it seems to be working fine.

I was considering to start at least reclaiming the coco that floats to the top when in a bucket of water while tossing out the goop at the bottom, and mixing it in the next run. If I repeated that process every run, eventually I would be mostly using only the top grade.

I knock off all the loose coco I can from the root ball. let it sit in a tub for a few days and mix it around occasionally. Add new coco (70/30 coco/perlite) at 50% new/old. I am on my third round of mixed coco and will be my last as I shut down for the summer. Will start with new fresh coco in the fall.

I tried a run with 4 plants in all new coco and 4 with mixed old coco, same light, same reservoir. The old stuff actually produced about 15% more bud. Could EASILY been other factors. But was interesting to see.

Smokey